Hi, I’m Adrienne (mostly known as Ren) and I decided to make my EduFire account spur of the moment today to help with my hellishly slow learning of the Japanese language.

I’ve been learning on and off for about 5 years, but never really committed to anything. Now that University is over I can spend a lot more time studying and making up for lost time.

My plans are to go out there next year to study at university as a Research student for at least a year and a half to further my Graphic Design skills. I am currently researching the various universities in and around Tokyo, so if anyone has a recommendation I’d love to hear it.

WELCOME/YOUKOSO, Adrienne! Glad you made the "spur of the moment’ leap into our eduWorld & eduFamily.

There are PLENTY of Japanese tutors & students here, as u may have already noticed. We all tend to be a very helpful and supportive group!

So, again, WELCOME/YOUKOSO! I’m pretty sure I can speak for all/many/most of us when I say, “We’re glad you’re here.”

どうも Jamila for your kind comment.

I’m already getting an overwhelming sense of welcoming from this website and I’m hoping to join my first class very soon.

Konnichiwa

Welcome to eduFire, there is a lot of cool people here, i’m sure you will enjoy your time here :)

Lee

Hi Adrienne!
Welcome to eduFire! I know you will love this site for your studies; lots of great people and resources to help you. The classes are great and I would definitely check those out. I think that it is great that you want to attend school in Japan….I think even if you get the basics here you will learn so much just living there. Good luck and have fun!

Hey Adrienne (or should I say Ren?). Welcome to eduFire. :) I’m glad you’re already feeling an overwhelming sense of welcoming. We hope you feel at home here!

I’m studying Japanese too, but I don’t have any recommendations for universities, unfortunately. Do you have some top picks right now?

Thanks for all the comments everyone.

@Scott; at the moment I’m leaning toward either Nagoya University of Arts, Tama Art University or Tokyo University of the Arts (which is the one I’d love to shoot for but I’m fairly sure the standards are sky high).

レンさん、どういたしまして！　You’re almost sure to feel more positive energy here….especially if u keep giving it :) You may want to talk to some native Japanese speakers/people living in Japan to see if you can get some inside information. And if they don’t know, maybe they could suggest someone or ask someone for you.

Best Wishes….

I’m sure you’re right, I’ll have to scout some out and see what they think of the schools I mentioned, or any art schools they think are worth looking in to.

Wow Ren, you and I are almost in the same boat! Like you, I have been learning Japanese off and on for a while (3 years of formal classes in college) and have an interest in graphic design. I’m also considering going to school in Japan someday, but for now I just want to take it easy.

Welcome, and よろしく！

Hi Ren, welcome to edufire! Don’t sell yourself short….go for the one you really want! No matter what happens you’ll have a great time. Good luck and again welcome to the site!

ああぁ〜 It does sound like we’re living the same life! I was going to go to Japan to study at the start of September, but have decided to study the language further for at least a year before I try. I was also thinking of taking a couple of months out there just for a language school (at least this way I’d have a way to practise). It’s funny that I live in a town which has a University that quite a lot of Japanese people come to, yet never have the opportunity to converse with them.

I hope you achieve your dreams, Mari! これからもよろしく。

Thanks Matt, I suppose there’s no harm in trying is there? At least I’d know I hadn’t passed up an amazing opportunity!

Welcome to eduFire, Ren! Using the site is incredibly easy, and you will learn very quickly!

I teach a free introductory Japanese course on Saturday nights. Feel free to join us, it’s a very relaxed and no-pressure environment. :]

That sounds like a great way to ease myself into the EduFire environment Dani! I will make sure to check it out, I look forward to it.

Hi Adrienne! It is very nice to meet you :) I am from the UK also, we had a nice sunny day here today :)
Be sure to register for an orientation class to get you started :) click here

Hi Debbie! What part of the UK? I’m curious as we had a pretty huge storm most of the afternoon and evening, no sun for us! Although today is a different story, looks glorious outside!

Oh how interesting! I am south of London and it was a lovely day. How crazy that you had heavy rain! The weather was pretty close though so we probably could have done with one. You are right, today looks like it is going to be nice :) Any plans for today?

Wow, not far from myself then. It’s very strange how the weather can be completely different in places about an hours distance apart! It was very humid, I was glad that it happened as I can’t stand when it’s too hot to bear!

Um…. a serious job hunt is in order as I’ve finished University and am jobless. Haha. So on the hunt today. Yourself?

Welcome to Edufire! It is exciting to hear that you are coming to Japan to study art! Yes, Tama University is very famous for art in Tokyo. Also you might want to check some art school if you are interested. Some art schools in Tokyo theses are for people who already has learned arts at University or who has enough knowledge about arts. Anyways Good luck and if there is anything I can help you out, feel free to contact me!

Ah, do you have any you could recommend Hiromiさん？ It took me some time to come up with my 3 top universities for art but might take me even longer to look at the art schools.

Haha, as the saying goes:

Don’t be afraid to shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.

Haha, sorry for the corny interjection. Good luck! :)

Haha, I’ve never heard that one before. I like it, makes things seem more achievable. :]

Welcome!
Just thought I’d say that our names are veryyy similar, haha.

So yeah. I can see you’re doing great on Edufire already, heh.
Happy studying! :D

Yes, they are! In fact, when I first started at school people never used to pronounce my name right and said Adrian, but obviously this is a boys name. Which led to me having the nickname ‘Ren’ after a time!

Thank you!